In smaller towns and villages, disdain towards unfortunate widows still persists.ġ920s - ancient India - avatars - banana - bangalore - buddha - calcutta - christmas - coins - colin mackenzie - colonel - conference ii - conversions - cousin - cows - customs - dalit - democracy - dhols - dr narayan - drums - dung - fables - far east - gandhi - gandhiji - great deluge - guru - hinduism - home library - human body - idolatry - kalpa - karnataka - kautilya - kingdoms - krishna - manners - marriage - new books - new year - nuances - obituary - old temple - patience - personalities - peru - pontiff - postal service - prime source - queen - rao - relevance - religion - revolt - romance - runners - saga - saints - Saints of India - salt satyagraha - science - shaven heads - sher - sri lanka - suresh - terracotta - tradition - trauma - tsunami - tulunadu - unity - universality - women - zen - 11th century - 75th anniversary - alberuni - all india radio - amrita - ancient art - ancient india - ancient indians - animals - anmori - arthashastra - autobiographical notes - b_g_l_swamy - babies - basham - bedas - belief - bengaluru - bhagat singh - Bhagatsingh as seen by Kamaladevi.Four men and two women were arrested in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district for allegedly assaulting and tonsuring a 30-year-old widow and a married man after accusing them of being in a relationship with. But remarriage of a widow is not at all easy in-spite of good qualifications, earnings and good looks. The cruelty, humility, ill-treatment and dependency are not apparent. These days outward signs of widowhood have almost disappeared. She has poured her thoughts on the harrowing subject in her auto biography "My Story". She had to face slanders, suspicions and insults for her bold stand. Her daring act was allowing her hair grow after twenty years of "shaven head". Her sister Anandibai was also a child widow whom Karve married and the family was ostrasized by the entire community and the town itself! Encouraged by Karve couple, Parvathibai educated herself, helped found and run a Home for Widows and destitute women, traveling and collecting funds. Parvatibai Athavale (1870-1955) was widowed in her twenties and was tonsured as was the practice. Ranade and his wife Ramabai, Maharshi Karve and his wife Anandibai and her sister Parvatibai Athavale, that positive effects were obtained slowly. Thanks to the tireless efforts of great social reformers like Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, Pandita Ramabai, Justice M.G.
The worst insult in Kannada language is "Mundeganda" (husband of a shorn widow) To add insult to injury, the barbers undertook this job unwillingly because any work connected with a widow was (and still is!) thought to be inauspicious! Even in the 21st century, superstitious Hindus of all caste and class, think that sight of a widow early in the morning is a bad omen! They were prohibited to attend any social family function. The crude cutter and blunt razor at times left the scalp bleeding. The most agonizing experience was to offer her head to the village barber, every fortnight for shaving. She could not wear ornaments, dress only in a red saree, eat only once a day, observe all fasts and slog in the household as unpaid servant. Child marriages being common, the child-wife was condemned to widowhood for life. She was made to look ugly by shaving her head the moment her husband died. Whereas a widower was advised to marry as early as possible. She could never remarry, even if she were widowed at a tender age. But the lot of a Brahmin widow was perhaps the most miserable. Women as such are second class citizens in many countries of the world and are even denied fundamental rights. But it is worthwhile to remember the most pitiable plight of a Brahmin widow of bygone days. It is only in old movies or those with old social themes that we see such women characters, created to render realistic touch. A century later, the sight of a shorn widow in red saree has disappeared, thanks to their tireless efforts. Social reformers and enlightened citizens of late 19th and early 20th century, worked very hard to improve their condition and convince common people that the cruel strictures imposed on widows were not mentioned in ancient Hindu holy texts. Many widows worked as cooks and did menial jobs. It was quite a common sight to see young and old Brahmin widows dressed in drab red sarees covering their shaven heads, moving about meekly with downcast eyes, when compelled to move out.
My childhood and early youth were spent in small towns of Karnataka. Shameful Practice of Shaven headsSee Also: The Trauma of Widow Tonsure
Kamat's Potpourri: Amma's Column - Shameful Practice of Shaven heads
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